Cameron, Putin Agree To Work Together On Syria

Britain's David Cameron and Russia's Vladimir Putin have agreed to restart talks on finding a solution to the crisis in Syria, Cameron's office said on May 25.

The Russian president phoned the U.K. prime minister to congratulate him on his reelection this month, and the two agreed that Syria talks should resume, a spokeswoman from Cameron's staff said.

Past talks have failed to resolve a crisis in which Islamic State (IS) militants have seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in a four-year civil war that has killed 220,000.

Both countries particularly want to "stop the rise of ISIL," the spokeswoman said, using a common acronym for the extremist group. "They agreed that their national security advisers should meet to restart talks."

The two leaders also spoke about Ukraine, where fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists have killed thousands over the last year.

Cameron said they would "continue to have deep differences" on the war, in which Russia denies supporting the rebels with weapons and troops.

Cameron said the priority is to enforce a February peace deal agreed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.